


Reveal

by JustAnotherUnderstudy



Series: This Should Totally Be A Thing [29]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond (Movies)
Genre: 100 ways to say i love you, Angst, Boss/Employee Relationship, Character Death, Denial of Feelings, Drabble, Drabble Collection, During Skyfall, F/M, Feelings, Feelings Realization, Fix-It, Happily Ever After, Happy Ending, Inspired by Music, Literal Sleeping Together, Movie: Casino Royale (2006), Movie: Skyfall (2012), Older Woman/Younger Man, Post-SPECTRE, Reveal, SPECTRE Fix-It, Sad, Songfic, Temporary Character Death, Trust Issues, Unrequited Love, Wordcount: 100
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-07-03 21:26:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 4,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15827253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherUnderstudy/pseuds/JustAnotherUnderstudy
Summary: One hundred words to say, "I love you."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm the introspective sort. I like to know why I do things or think things or feel things. In the realm of 00M, I've often wondered what makes me the happiest in stories (and by happy I mean I'm a sobbing mess, hehe). I think it's all the ways in which they have to reveal to each other how they feel, or that they are not really dead. So, I decided to explore a bunch of different ideas that come to mind. In order to keep me from starting yet another long story that takes forever for me to finish, I decided I will limit each story to 100 words. Otherwise, I will never get any work done this term. However, if something inspires you, please take it and continue the story. :)

“I love you.”

His words were met as he expected, with a look of utter disbelief.

“What are you going at?”

Her tone was sharp.

“Nothing,” he said, more quietly than earlier. “I just wanted you to know.”

James watched as she processed the information. The more she thought about it, the more confused she seemed to become.

“Why are you telling me this now?”

She waved at the door of the office as if to indicate the farewell party that was going on in the next room.

“Because you’ll leave, and I won’t ever see you again,” he replied.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little change up to Casino Royale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am of the opinion that if Olivia had simply visited James in hospital, the events following never would have occurred. I have several different head canons on that, but for now I just have 100 words.

Olivia stood at James’ bedside. She didn’t dare hold his hand, and not because she didn’t want to seem sentimental. There were too many prying eyes about.

That Ms. Lynd from the Treasury seemed quite distraught about James’ state. Olivia forced herself not to be jealous. She had no claim to James despite their relationship.

James stirred and opened his eyes just slightly. She could see when she came into focus by the surprise on his face.

“M, you shouldn’t be here,” he rasped.

She shouldn’t, she knew that.

“I had to see you,” she said.

“Why?”

“I love you.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Early morning revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100 words can be tough. Took me five minutes to figure out how to fit in the final word. :D

He watched as she began to stir in her sleep and he smiled. He’d only intended to rest for a while after they made love, but he’d fallen into a deep sleep and woke at the dawn with her in his arms.

Her eyes fluttered open and he saw her surprise.

He smiled at her.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Why are you still here?” she asked.

It was a valid question. They never stayed the night.

“I enjoyed sleeping in your arms,” he replied.

“And, I love you.”

He silenced any protest she might have given with a passionate kiss.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regret is unprofessional, that doesn't mean M doesn't have one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I must be going through an angst phase. :D This is sad. :( Sorry.

“I love you,” he says.

She knows he means it, but she can’t encourage him. It’s too dangerous.

“That’s just the sex talking,” she snaps at him.

The look he gives her is murder but that’s only because she’s hurt him.

She thinks of that moment as she sits at her desk, the night surrounding her; the only light is from her desk lamp and her computer. His face stares back at her and it mocks her with everything that could have been if she’d allowed it.

His words are now drowned out by her own.

“Take the bloody shot.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, tomorrow never comes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another sad one. Sorry. :( (Though I'm not sad at all. Just felt it fit after the last story.)

For years, he waited, and he planned. He had a vision of the right time and place. He looked for those at every opportunity. 

He’d been tempted in the Bahamas. The smile she gave him made him want to reassure her that she needn’t worry, he would always be hers. But there was work to be done.

He’d been tempted in Russia. The snow fell around her as her words brought him back. But his heart was too wounded.

Now, there could be no perfect moment.

“I love you,” he whispered, as he held her lifeless body in the kirk.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall," which we all know is really about M. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the theme songs from the four Craig movies are about M. Seriously. Listen and be enlightened. I have several half-thought out stories along those lines. Here's a mini-version of one.

“You don’t mean that,” she said, though her eyes told a different story.

“You know I do,” he replied. “If I had lost you at Skyfall…”

He let the words hang, and not only for dramatics.

Finally, he decided to confess it all.

“How could I have lived? How could I have breathed?”

He lifted his hand to caress her face and smiled when she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

“The thought of losing you is suffocating,” he whispered hoarsely before he brushed his lips gently against hers.

He wrapped his arms around her.

“I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your imagination as to who said the last line. :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia and James. In hospital. After Skyfall. A fix-it. Of course.

Olivia knew he was there before she could comprehend what the odor or the beeping sounds defined. She squeezed his hand. He squeezed back.

 

His voice drifted through to her as if he was speaking through water.

She remembered the chapel and the look of anguish as he held her. He shook as his body was wracked with tears. He’d been saying something then.

He leaned in close to her now.

“I’m glad you’ve come back to me.”

His voice was clear to her but rough with emotion.

“I love you,” he whispered the words he had in the chapel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in need of happy. So I forced myself to write something.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confrontation with James’ lover leads to truths revealed.

She’d been taking a risk, she knew that. James was supposed to believe her dead. When she’d learned of the events with Spectre, though, she had contacted him.

After months of secretly meeting, Madeleine had become suspicious and now they all had an embarrassing confrontation.

At first, Madeleine accused her of trying to get James back into MI6. Finally convinced that wasn't the case, Madeleine made a leap to the improbable.

”You’re in love with him!”

”Yes, ” Olivia replied, quietly.

Then she turned to James. He looked surprised by her confession. She couldn't blame him.

”I love you, ” she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, I'm writing for my sanity. Enjoy my attempts.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of the last story. Part 2 of ?.

M broke eye contact as she turned away and headed toward the door of the restaurant. James stared, immobilized by indecision. If he let her walk out, she’d vanish forever. The only way to stop her, however, was telling her of his own feelings. Nothing terrified him more. 

She was nearly to the door. James glanced at Madeleine and something about the look she was giving M made up his mind for him.

“M,” he called after her. “Please, wait.”

She stopped and turned, her stance proud and defiant.

James walked up to her.

“I love you, too,” he said.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 3 of ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People, even Blofeld knew. I mean, come on already. :D

“What?!?” 

Madeleine’s voice startled them both.

“How can you be serious?” she scoffed.

“Madeleine, I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t lose her again.”

“Again?”

She glanced between the two of them as the moment stretched, tense and taut.

Then, something akin to recognition crossed her face, though James couldn’t see how she would know M.

“Oh,” she said, surprised. “You’re James’ ‘ _beloved M_.’

“I didn’t realize that Blofeld meant you when he spoke of James’ past loves,” she said.

In her eyes, James saw a struggle between fighting and accepting the inevitable.

She turned toward him.

“You really love her.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 4 of ?

As Olivia watched the scene between James and Madeleine play out before her, her heart beat wildly. She had not expected James to admit aloud his feelings for her. She long suspected them, but had always felt it inappropriate to share her own. He was a young man, he deserved someone with whom he could have a long, happy future.

He must have known her feelings for him, as well. He’d not been different when he said those words than the James she’d always known. There was no charm or flirtation. He knew she loved him, and he understood why.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5 of ?

James felt Olivia watching him as he quietly explained to Madeleine that he couldn’t go back. He had lived without M, knew how it felt.

It was difficult to concentrate on the conversation. He wondered if Olivia believed him. James knew she loved him, but could only think of all the reasons she shouldn’t. 

They’d always had a volatile relationship. He’d only wanted her trust. Everything he’d done had been to earn it. It wasn’t until Skyfall that James realized he’d always had it. And he’d failed her.

“I love her, Madeleine,” he said. “There is nothing more to say.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 6 of ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Needed a break from derivatives and differentials so here's the next installment. :)

Madeleine was shocked at James’ abrupt ending of the conversation, more shocked when he turned away from her and took M’s hand in his.

When the two of them had declared their love for each other it had not been the sort of gushing, romantic flair common to lovers. From the outside, it had seemed almost cold.

Now, Madeleine realized, it wasn’t cold at all. It was a calm, assured, and absolute thing. It was the look of two people who knew each other so well that the words need never pass between them, and, obviously, they hadn’t before tonight.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 7 of ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t know when this story will end, but I do hope they get to leave the restaurant lobby soon. :D

James’ hand felt right in hers. Still, Olivia stared at it in surprise. This had never been her intention. And if Madeleine hadn’t forced her hand...

“James, how can you go back to her? She made you a killer,” Madeleine interrupted her thought.

Olivia looked up as she felt James tense. He turned his head toward Madeleine.

“No, Madeleine, she didn’t make me anything of the sort,” he said.

He looked back at Olivia and gave her the slightest of smiles.

“She just took me as I was, and made me better,” he said. “How can I not love her?”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 8 of ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still more to come after this. Now that the seed was planted by @saye0036, I really have to know what Madeleine is thinking. :D

James hadn’t expected Madeleine to understand exactly how important Olivia was to him.

 _His_ M.

When Blofeld had referred to her as his beloved M, James had felt his blood run cold. He should have killed the bastard. It’s what Olivia would have wanted, he’d been sure. But Madeleine had convinced him to be different.

Olivia had never asked him to be anything else but a better version of what he was. She’d driven him and honed him until he was unwavering in his loyalty to Queen and Country, never realizing that she alone had become his queen and country.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 9 of ?

“You’re not a killer,” Madeleine pleaded. “I know you’re not.”

“He is,” M answered her. “Not in the way of your father, though.”

“What’s the difference?” Madeleine glared at her.

“Your father killed to control by fear,” she said. “James has only killed when necessary. And only when commanded.”

“It’s all the same,” Madeleine snapped back.

She looked at James, an entreaty in her eyes. The look he gave back said there was nothing she could say to change his mind.

“Madeleine, I do care for you,” James said. “But I can never be what you want me to be.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 10 of ? Though I think I'm fairly close to the end here. :)

This was not the way Olivia expected her night to end. She was only supposed to have dinner with James, then return home, alone, as usual.

Instead, it was nearly midnight and she was staring at the ceiling, listening to James softly snore next to her in the dark.

It was still unbelievable, that he would leave everything behind for her.

James shifted and turned onto his side facing her. His arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her up against him.

“Sleep,” he whispered hoarsely. “You’re going to need it.”

M chuckled. She had no doubt she would.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final installment of the story within the drabbles. Still more drabbles to come, I'm sure. :)

James stretched out on the bench on the boat deck, his head cushioned on M’s lap, while her fingers carded through his hair.

It had taken him some time to learn to relax like this, but now, a month into their trek to wherever their whims took them, he felt he could surely fall into a deep sleep, lulled by the sun and the gentle waves beneath the boat.

He picked up M’s free hand and pressed his lips against her wrist. Then he held it to his chest.

“I love you,” he mumbled as he drifted off to sleep.


	19. Toothbrush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one has a title because it was inspired by a song. Toothbrush by Marcell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a totally separate drabble from the series I just finished.

James came up behind Olivia as she was about to drop her toothbrush back into her small overnight.

“Leave it here,” he whispered.

His arms wrapped round her to hold the hand with the brush.

“Please,” he said.

She looked at him in the mirror.

“Why?” she asked, thankful her voice did not betray her feelings, though he must be able to feel her heart pounding raucously in her chest.

“You know why,” he replied.

She breathed a shaky breath as he took the brush from her hand and dropped it into the cup next to his.

“I love you.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another fix-it for Skyfall. Man, did they mess things up in that movie.

M was staring out the office window. The dark room had been temporary, as she’d handed the reigns to the new M. James never thought it suited her.

Her old office had been light and allowed for as much natural light as possible. That had been ideal.

He’d only told her that yesterday, finally getting up the nerve after everything they’d faced together at Skyfall.

She turned to him with a small smile.

“You sure about this, Bond?” she asked.

“If you are.”

“Of course, I am,” she reached and touched his hand before she whispered. “I love you, too.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Spectre. Because I like to fix things.

When James wakes, he knows something is amiss. It’s more than just the dull, throbbing pain in his body, more than just the antiseptic scent.

A voice. Her voice.

He fears opening his eyes and discovering it to be just another dream.

But he opens them, and she is there.

“What am I to do with you, James?” She shakes her head.

“Kiss me,” he answers in a rough voice.

“Why?” She is surprised.

“Because, I love you,” he tells her.

“And I know you love me, too, or you wouldn’t be here.”

Finally, she smiles, and grants his request.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Put your hand in my hand  
> And we’ll stand" Skyfall
> 
> It's all about M, I am not kidding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another story, sort of inspired by another theme song. This one is, obviously, Skyfall. I don't fix it. I just needed to force myself to write something that wasn't going to receive a grade. :)

“You were doing your job,” James tells her, and he means it.

Then it is too late, he thinks. Too late to tell her everything he meant to say for so many years. Too late to mend what he broke. It is not her, he wants to tell her. It’s them. James, Silva, and all the other men, they don’t understand her. They all want something more from her than they would if she was a man.

He and M move apart and James stores away the words, “I love you,” for a later time, after he’s regained her trust.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A good night's rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm still overly anxious so I wanted to write again. This popped into my head. It's actually a filler for the story I posted this morning, "Maybe We Don't Know What We Have Until We've Lost It."

James listened as Olivia’s breaths evened out and she drifted to sleep. He’d been surprised when she’d allowed him into her bed. At first, he’d tried not to read into it. However, after she’d had him get under the covers with her, it was difficult not to.

What a terrible waste of time on his part. He really had never shown her. Now there would be time.

He moved a little closer to her so he feel the heat from her body, reminding him that she was really alive.

“I love you,” he whispered, as he joined her in slumber.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An office chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day. I'm not really a holiday person myself, and this one is just stupid beyond belief, but I will use a holiday as an excuse to write a sappy story. :)
> 
> You can put this anywhere into the timeline of Craig's Bond that you like. I have it post-Quantum, but it really doesn't matter since canon is stupid. ;)

“I know it’s been difficult, Bond,” M said after dismissing Tanner at the end of James’ debrief.

He gave her an indifferent look but could see in her eyes that she was not convinced.

“Unfortunately, in this business, we cannot trust anyone,” she continued.

“Not even you?” he asked.

“You know that if I were to discover you were a traitor, I would have to silence you,” she told him with a shake of her head.

“But if I was not, couldn’t I trust you?” James asked.

“Why does it matter, James?” she asked, sounding exasperated.

“Because, I love you.”


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia has an epiphany, but James can never know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during CR, obviously. Doesn't fix it. I know, weird. 
> 
> Update: So now it’s a mini-series (do they still make those on TV?) and this is 1 of ?.

Olivia watched James as he rested in his hospital bed. The torture LeChiffre had subjected him to was horrendous and it would take days, the doctor said, until he came around.

This was the worst part of the job. This was worse, though, because she’d grown too close to him. They were so much alike, it had been impossible to not have strong feelings for him. Until he’d been poisoned, she hadn’t known what those feelings were. Now she did.

She leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his brow.

“I love you,” she whispered, and turned to leave.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continued from Ch 25.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Tayryn thought that last story was open ended so I took that as an invitation to write more. :D Maybe we'll fix everything after all. Maybe. I don't know. I just need to write and all my other stories keep stalling. (2 of ?)

“M?”

The hoarse whisper of her title caused her to stop.

Damn the doctors and their surety.

She turned and gave him a cold and austere look in order to convey a sense of indifference she did not feel.

His eyes darted around the room as she watched him try to focus. She had no idea how he knew it was her as it was obvious he could not see much at all.

“M?"

He called again, and now she knew he did not see her.

He sighed and relaxed back into his pillow.

“I love you, too,” he whispered.


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James has a lovely dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Tayryn begged for this ;). I'm not sure where it will go from here because all I see is blinding, painful angst. I need to finish this phase of my artistic life and go back to happy times. :)
> 
> (3 of ?)

Through the fog and haze in his mind, James swore he could hear M. The soft cadence of her voice pulled at his consciousness and he followed dutifully.

A brush of warm lips against his brow and whispered words he’d long desired to hear floated around him.

It was a dream, he was sure, but he called out to her just the same.

Was that movement he saw? He called again. Silence. It was a dream.

He sighed and relaxed back onto the bed. If it was only a dream, it was safe to tell her.

“I love you, too.”


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some decisions we make, some are made for us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, another chapter in this story. Still have no idea where it’s going. Tears and blood, I’m sure.
> 
> (4 of ?)

Olivia stood, frozen to the spot. It was obvious James had not seen her, but he had heard her. She was suddenly torn between desire and duty in a way she’d never been. She knew she should leave. But her heart threatened to break through her ribs.

She stood in this state of indecision until the decision was made for her.

The door opened behind her and she heard Villiers call to her.

With Villiers at her back she gave James one last, longing look before she turned and headed back to the real world where only her responsibilities mattered.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> M has denied herself her whole life. She’s not planning to change now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moving a little forward. Guess, I should point out now, that it seems like it will change CR, therefore all future Bond films do not exist. :D
> 
> (5 of ?)

Villiers handed M the phone outside James’ room.

“It’s Tanner, ma’am,” he said.

“Tanner, welcome back, what do you have for me?”

Tanner went into detail about what they’d been able to recover from the site where Bond and Vesper had been found.

“Alright, keep me updated,” she said.

She ended the call and headed to see Ms. Lynd. Something wasn’t settling right with M about the woman’s story. M had been in the business a long timeand knew better than to ignore a gut feeling.

Other feelings, like the ones she had for James, those must be ignored.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The more she hears from Vesper, the more M's suspicions are raised.

Vesper Lynd seemed honest enough, M thought as she questioned the woman. There was something, though, that bothered her. It was the woman’s personality. She’d have made a good agent, M considered. Vesper was a strong and independent woman, but that didn’t account for the small things that M picked up on.

The original MI6 agent who questioned her had told M that she was upset “as any woman would likely be” at her torture.  As she retold the story to M, though, the emotion didn’t seem to match the woman.

When she left Vesper’s room, she called Tanner immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that having read the book before seeing the movie I was suspicious of Vesper the entire film, however, I've always thought James was a bit of a nit for seeing through her profusions of adoration. But, then, that's what James does. Never suspects the woman. Fortunately, this time, M's around. :)


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7 of ?

Olivia could see James and Vesper laughing in the sun on the beach from the veranda. She couldn’t say that Vesper had not been good for James’ recovery. His medical record, however, still showed that the doctors were not sure if the damage from the torture would deter intimate relations. Olivia took comfort in the knowledge that James had not taken Vesper to bed. Not only because she felt an unusual pang of jealousy, though. If the path Tanner was following for her continued the same path it appeared to be headed, James was going to have his heart broken.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 8 of ?

Five days later, Olivia has James into her quarters for drinks and discussion of his return to work. She has years of practice, so she does not give herself away as she awaits the call from Villiers to tell her they’ve accomplished the mission. That mission being the real reason James is in her room.

When her phone rings, she calmly picks it up. Listens. Thanks Villiers for the update. Hangs up and gives James a meaningful look. That proves to be too much, though, and she looks away. She does not want to be the source of his heartache.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 9 of ?

James was glad to get away from Vesper for the evening. Usually, M dined with the two of them. James found it all very awkward, though he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the look M gave him when she learned the password he had made for the bank. Her glare screamed her displeasure at his stupidity.

James had been acting nothing but stupid lately. His brain felt muddled and confused. Except now, when he was alone with her. As always, that brought clarity, and he wished that he was planning to take M to bed tonight instead of Vesper.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 of?

“Thank you, Villiers.”

M hung up the phone and gave James a look that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He was about to ask what he did now, when she averted her eyes and the look on her face told him it wasn’t something he’d done.

“What?” he asked.

She stood and walked over to the bar and poured herself a double scotch. James’ eyes widened and he steeled himself as he waited for her reply.

“I am sorry, James,” she said, quietly. “I am afraid I invited you here under false pretenses."


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 11 of ?

The first thought that flashed through James’ mind was nothing to do with work. It was everything to do with the sort of pretenses he’d like Olivia to invite him under. He tamped down the desire that flashed through his body and waited for her explanation.

She turned to him and again looked him in the eye.

“I had you here so you wouldn’t have to witness the team I sent with Villiers to have Vesper arrested,” she said.

James felt as if the rug had been pulled out from under him.

“Arrested,” he asked. “What for?”

“Treason,” Olivia replied.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12 of ?

James’ head felt like it was spinning.

“I’m sorry, James,” Olivia said, and she truly sounded as if she was.

James stared at a spot on the floor and tried to get his bearings.

“Did you know she had a boyfriend who’s gone missing?” Olivia asked.

James’ looked up at her sharply then slowly shook his head.

“Neither do the authorities,” she continued as she returned to the seat across from him that she’d just vacated.

“She’s being coerced, James.”

James wouldn’t have believed this if anyone but Olivia had told him. 

“You must think me an idiot,” James sighed.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 13 of ?

“No, James,” Olivia replies. “I think you’re a man who fell in love with the wrong woman.”

The look he gives her is raw, but not with pain. If she hadn’t heard those three words from him weeks ago, she wouldn’t know what it meant.

“I need to meet Villiers and begin questioning Ms. Lynd,” Olivia tells him as she stands and shrugs off the way her memory of that day makes her feel.

“You may stay here as long as you need, James,” she tells him.

She’s certain he won’t want to return to his room for a while.


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14 of ?

Olivia’s guard left at her door. She pushed it open and immediately kicked off her heels, grumbling to herself about their necessity.

Ms. Lynd’s interrogation went nowhere. The woman refused to say anything, even when she was offered immunity. Olivia was so exasperated that she nearly offered the woman James. But James would never want Vesper now. M knew him too well. Vesper’s betrayal would eat him away. She’d have to keep an eye on him. 

She reached the bedroom and flipped on the light, then gasped in surprise upon seeing the man seated in a chair near the bed.


	39. Chapter 39

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

James looked up at her from the chair with bloodshot eyes. Olivia made no comment on his state.

“I heard you at the door and feared your guard might come in and see me,” he explained. “So I ran in here so he wouldn’t think that we.”

His voice trailed off but Olivia understood so she nodded in reply.

“I fell asleep on your sofa,” he continued.

Olivia said nothing and the silence stretched out between them. Finally, James rose from the chair.

“If you think he’s gone, I should leave,” he said.


	40. Chapter 40

Olivia was silent as she watched James walk toward the bedroom door. He paused at the threshold.

“On our first night at the casino, Vesper gave me a tuxedo to wear,” he said. “I asked her how she thought it could fit me.”

He sighed and shoved his hands into his trousers pockets.

“She told me that she’d sized me up the moment we met.”

James then turned to look at Olivia.

“It sounded so much like something you’d say,” he told her quietly.

Then his look turned more serious.

“She was just a pale substitute for the real thing.”


	41. Chapter 41

James caught the brief flash of surprise in M’s eyes before she deftly hid it behind that infuriating mask she always wore in his presence. He turned away and looked into the darkened living area. He wondered if he should tell her what was weighing more heavily on his mind than merely Vesper’s betrayal.

“How did they know?” he asked as he turned back to her. “How did they know to send her?”

“I suspect they sent her because she is a beautiful woman and you would necessarily be attracted to her,” M answered.

“No,” James said shaking his head.


	42. Chapter 42

“The only reason I was attracted at the beginning was because she reminded me of you,” he replied.

He watched M’s face as she processed that information. She didn’t look surprised at all. That was all James needed to verify his suspicion that she had indeed been in his room and heard him, whether he had dreamed her words was still in question. He decided to press his luck.

“I remember your visit,” he said.

M closed her eyes. That, too, was all the confirmation James needed. He waited for her to respond.

“This was such a mistake,” she whispered.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Confrontations and Consequences](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17160269) by [tayryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tayryn/pseuds/tayryn)




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